Alibis
by Moonbeam-987
Summary: James Diamond and Logan Mitchell, the best homicide detectives in Minneapolis. They are able to solve every case thrown their way; or so they thought. When a dead teen is found in a local hockey rink, James and Logan are thrown for a loop when the murderer leaves no evidence and targets the best friend. Taking in a teenager and solving the murder shouldn't be that hard, right?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: New story time! I've been wanting to write this story for years, and I have finally gotten the inspiration to write for it. I hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this whole story.

Warnings: Death, rape, self-harm... there will probably be more things like these listed as I continue to write.

* * *

_A bright red light flashes above me. It lights the room up for three seconds at a time before plunging it back into darkness for two. I groan as a dull ache throbs its way across the back of my head and the tangy smell of blood fills my nose. As I try to sit up, I immediately find that I am unable to. Looking down, I see that my hands and feet are strapped down to the shiny metal table I'm laying on. But that's not the worst part..._

_ I'm strapped down to a metal table, completely naked._

_My breath hitches in my throat as I begin to try and break free, but the straps are not budging. If anything, they're getting tighter around my extremities. Looking around the room, I try to find any clue as to where I am, but the only things I find in the flashing red light's glow are a bunch of pipes twisting above my head and a large steel door to my left._

_Before I know it, tears are pouring down my face as I begin to hyperventilate. Looking back up at the light, I try to time my erratic breathing along to it's flashing, but it doesn't work. My lungs are working overtime as I attempt to process everything._

_I was at the rink._

_I was waiting for my best friend to show up so we could practice._

_I was on the ice._

_Someone called my name._

_Everything went black._

_Now here I am, completely naked, strapped down to a metal table, with know idea of how I got here or how long I've been here. Has it been hours? Days? Weeks? Is my family looking for me? Do they even know I'm missing? Does Ke-"_

_My thoughts are halted the moment the large metal door opens. A person walks through the door, a hyper-realistic wolf mask covering their face. I just thought my breathing was erratic earlier. Now it's like there is absolutely no air circulating through my lungs. As the figure approaches the table, I do the first thing any sane person would do in this situation. I scream._

_Wrong move._

_The red light glints off of the knife the person seems to have drawn out of thin air. I see it for the three seconds the light stays on, and within the following two second span of darkness, they slash the knife across my cheek. I scream again, but this time in pain. It hisses at me as it makes another cut across my shoulder, and I realize it wants me to stop screaming. Instead I begin to whimper._

_"Wh-why am I here? What d-do you w-want from m-me?"_

_"I want you out of the way." It speaks with a deep, mincing voice._

_Tears fill my eyes, and before I can get another word or scream to push out of my lungs, my world is plunged into an eternal darkness._

* * *

"He shoots, he scores!" James yells, as he leans back in his chair, making crowd noises behind his cupped hands after successfully throwing a paper wad into the trashcan across the room.

"Cut it out, James!"

"C'mon, Logie! I'm just trying to have some fun."

"How many times have I told you not to call me that at work?" Logan huffed, swiveling around in his chair so James could see the annoyed look on his face. "This is a professional place, so act like it."

"Sorry that I'm just trying to lighten the mood... I don't like being swamped in all of these files full of depression for long periods of time." James mumbled, returning to the paperwork piled up on his desk.

"Then why the hell did you decide to become a homicide detective?"

"You know that wasn't the original plan. And plus, when you get promoted around here, you don't turn it down."

Logan nodded. He knew that becoming detectives was not the original path both boys wanted to pursue. Since the age of six, all James and Logan wanted to do was become cops like their dad's. They grew up side-by-side, admiring their dads as they protected the small town they once lived in. They've been together through the best and the worst of times, and in the end, it only made their friendship stronger. After graduating high school, they moved to Minneapolis and ended up in the police academy, like they always planned. Within the next few years, as a team, James and Logan soared through the ranks and went from foot cops, to drug unit, all the way up to homicide detectives. With James' keen eye and Logan's quick thinking, the two together were a force to be reckoned with. The Minneapolis' police force had never seen anything like the young duo, and they probably will never see another pair of men like them.

"And it's not like I hate doing what we do," James continued as he lowered his head to look at his hands, his shaggy brunette hair falling into his hazel eyes, "I just have to take breaks every once in a while. You know that."

"Yeah, I know." Logan took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, Jay. I'm not mad at you. I'm frustrated with myself. I just can't seem to crack this case," he gestures towards the file laying open on his cluttered desk.

James got out of his chair and walked over to his partner's desk. Scanning his eyes over the file, he read the name and date at the top of a kidnapping case. _Kevin Benson, 1994_. James tapped his finger on the top paper and looked over at his friend.

"This is a cold case from the nineties, Logan. We were like five when this happened. You probably won't find anything."

"I know, but there is so many missing links in this file. The detective who was assigned this case didn't do half of what they were supposed to. I-"

Logan was cut off by the shrill ringing of James' work phone. James answered quickly, giving hums in agreement before saying that they would be right there.

"Murder at the ice rink on Bleaker Street." James said as both he and Logan grabbed their guns, badges, and coats before heading out the door.

Both men hopped into James' car, strapping in before the brunette sped away from the station. They drove in silence, and about twelve minutes later they pulled up to the scene. Police cars filled the parking lot as pedestrians tried to get past the yellow tape to see what was going on. They flashed their badges as they walked up to the yellow barrier, and were allowed in immediately. Walking into the rink, they found Kelly talking to a burly man and a teenager. Kelly had just joined their division, so she was taking on any and every case she could. As they approached her, she finished up talking to the man and the teen.

"Hey, what happened." Logan asked, scanning the rink.

Kelly flipped open her note pad and replied, "Male, late teens. The owner of the rink found him this morning when he was opening at eight-thirty. No word on cause of death yet, and the missing persons database is being searched as we speak."

"Is Camille here yet?" James asked as Kelly began to lead them to the rink.

"She got here a few minutes ago. She's examining the body right now." Stepping up to the side of the rink, Kelly pulled two pairs of skates off the stands, handing them over to James and Logan before she started to put on her own pair. "Owner demanded everyone wearing skates so we don't mess up the ice."

Looking around, they saw the whole task force skating around the rink, collecting evidence. Both men nodded as they started to step into their skates.

"Just like old times, eh, Logan?"

"Yeah, except we played hockey instead of examining dead bodies." Logan said dryly.

Nodding sternly, realizing this was not the time nor the place for that, James stood up and made his way onto the ice, Kelly and Logan following right behind him. Sliding to a stop in front of the home goal, James and Logan took in the scene.

Camille was crouched down in front of the goal, examining the body within it. The boy was tided to the top of the goal by rope that led to his wrists, keeping his upper body up as his head hung toward his chest. The ropes that held the boy up were so tight around his wrists that they left the skin bruised and lacerated. From what James could see, the rest of kid's skin was also littered with cuts and bruises. Blood was dried in his chocolate brown hair, leaving it stiffly matted to his skull, and it appeared that the only article of clothing on the excessively pale body was an over-sized yellow and maroon hockey jersey.

"Hey, Cam." Logan said as he skated to the medical examiner's side. "You have any idea what happened?"

"Well," Camille stood up, turning to the small group of detectives as she straightened out her skirt, "his face is completely unrecognizable, so I'll have to wait for dental records to find out who he is. I think asphyxiation was the ultimate cause of death, although I'm sure the blunt force trauma to his skull and the amount blood loss also played a heavy hand. And, seeing as he is only wearing a jersey, I suspect that there was also some sort of sexual trauma. Though, I won't be able to confirm these theories until I get him back to the lab."

"Was he murdered here?" Kelly asked.

Before Camille could speak, Logan pipes up, saying, "No. There would be blood all over the place. The ice around him is almost spotless."

"Yes, I suspect that he was brought here after he died. He's been dead for roughly sixteen hours, but his body temp doesn't match that time frame. If he had been killed here, his body would be frosted over by now."

The trio nodded as they began to inspect the area around the goal, searching for further evidence. James moved closer to the body and crouched down to where he could look at the boy's face. Gashes and nasty purple and black bruises masked his face, making him look more like a bloated elephant than a human. As he continued to look over the boy's face, something yellow caught his eye. It was sticking out from in-between boy's blue lips.

"Camille, what's this?"

"What's what?"

"This yellow thing sticking out of his mouth." James said as he pointed to it. Camille also couched down to where she could look at the kid's face.

"I don't know... How did I miss that?" she said as she gently pulled the object out from between his blue lips with a gloved hand.

"What is it?" Logan asked.

"It's a piece of paper." Camille held a small ball of yellow paper in her palm, showing it to the others. She began to open it up, and her face crinkled with confusion. "There is something written on it."

"What does it say?"

"I can't make it out. His saliva smudged the ink. But, I should be able to recover it. Kelly, come lend me a hand." And with that, the two women skated over to the edge of the rink where James could see Camille's medical bag sitting.

"What do you think happened?" James mused, as he circled the body.

"You know I don't like to gue-"

"Dak!"

The heart wrenching scream echoed off of the walls of the rink, sending every set of eyes in the place turning toward its origin. Being held back at the entrance to the ice, by two policemen, was a blonde teenage boy. Tears cascaded down his face as he tried to force his way past the officers to get to the body.

The kid broke James' heart. Skating over to the teen, he motioned for the officers to let him go, to which they complied. The boy took off toward the body, but stopped half way, swaying on his feet. James reacted quickly and got to him just before his legs gave out. A sob ripped it's way out of the blonde's throat as he coward into James' side, hiding his face in his shoulder. Everyone watched the teen lose control in the detective's arms, as the older man held him, trying to soothe the poor soul. Dragging him over to the stands, James kept a tight hold of him as they sat down together, Logan following behind them. After a few minutes, the sobs turned into whimpers, and the boy pulled away from James.

"I-I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay." James placed a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder. Glaring around the room, he signaled for everyone to get back to work before turning back to the blonde. "What's your name?"

"K-Kendall."

"I'm Detective Diamond. And this is Detective Mitchell." James said as he gestured to his friend. "Do you know who this boy is?"

"D-Dak... His n-name is Dak Z-Zevon."

James looked up to Logan, and the shorter of the two nodded, heading off to find Kelly so they could confirm the boy's identity. Turning back to Kendall, he finally got a good look at him. Besides the blonde hair that James noticed automatically, Kendall had these soft green eyes that seemed too wise for his age. His pink, full bottom lip's pierced with a silver hoop on the left side, and he played with it with his tongue while trying to calm down. And what seemed to be the natural white, creamy color of his skin was now blotchy red due to his crying and the coldness of the rink. For a split second, James thought he was rather attractive.

"W-We were supposed t-to meet up this morning to p-practice... He's my... m-my b-best friend."

Kendall's choked whisper brought James back to the present. The blonde let out a shuddery breath, and looked like he was going to fall back into James' embrace, but he just swayed in his seat instead. James placed an arm around the younger boy's body, afraid that he was about to pass out or something.

"I'm sorry, Kendall."

"Wh-what happened to h-him?" Kendall asked, blinking up at James through his long, damp eyelashes.

"We're not sure yet, but trust me, we will find whoever did this to him, and they will pay."

Kendall nodded and bowed his head, and James could clearly see the boy's salty tears dripping onto his pants, leaving little black splotches in their wake. He tried consoling Kendall by rubbing soothing circles on his arm. James wanted to say the right thing, the right words, that would fix everything, but the only thing that would help Kendall right now would be his best friend not being dead. James can't imagine the pain he is going through. If he was in the teen's position, and it was Logan who was dead, James new he would probably end his life right then, right there.

"Hey, James." James looked up to find Logan, Camille, and Kelly skating to a stop in front of them, and then watched them as they stepped off the ice. "Camille was able to recover what was written on the paper."

"What does it say?"

"Blondie's next?" Camille answered with a confused tone, not really knowing what the message meant.

"Does anyone have an idea of what's that supposed to mean?"

"Is he okay?" Kelly asked, pointing at Kendall.

James looked back at the teen and found that his head was back up. His bloodshot eyes bulged out of his head and his face was as white as a sheet. Kendall's lips were parted as he tried to pull and push air from his lungs, and James was again worried that he was going to faint.

"Wh-what did it say?" the teen asked, his voice shaky.

"Blondie is next." Camille repeated, still looking confused as she held the paper up for the boy to see. "Do you know what it means?"

"That's wh-what Dak calls-called-me. My nickname is B-Blondie."

All four pairs of eyes shifted over to Kendall. There was a chorus of 'shit's echoed around the group as they looked down at the killer's next target.

* * *

A/N: There is so much information and detail that I wanted to put into the first chapter, but it just didn't work out the way I wanted it to...

Review and let me know what you think and let me know whether or not I should even continue this!


	2. Chapter 2

"What do you think Roque is going to do with him?" James whispered out of the side of his mouth to Logan as they stood outside the chief's office.

"Well, I would assume that he's going to put the kid under twenty-four-hour surveillance," Logan replied, as he headed back toward his desk, James following behind him, "I mean, the killer obviously knows him personally, or at least enough to know his nickname."

As Logan took a seat in his chair, James hopped up on to the shorter man's desk to where they were facing one another. Swinging his legs back-and-forth, James silently wondered who would want to hurt the blonde teenager. Wrapped up in thought, he barely noticed Kelly approach.

"Any news?" she asked.

"Not yet," Logan replied, swiveling in his chair to face her, "He's been in there for over an hour. Either he's got a really long list of suspects, or he can barely hold it together long enough to string a couple of names together. My guess is the latter."

"Poor kid. He lost his best friend, and now he is being targeted." Kelly said as she rubbed at her temples, "If that were me, I would be hidden somewhere in the fetal position."

"If it were me, I don't know what I'd do..." James began, as he stared at the floor, his eyes out of focus. "From what I can tell, Kendall and Dak were as close as Logan and I are." He snapped out of his haze and met the eyes of his best friend. "If what happened to Dak happened to you, I just-." Both Logan and James' eyes became hazy, and Logan stood up to wrap his arms around the taller brunette. "I wouldn't be able to-"

"I know, I know. Me neither." Logan shushed before stepping back, holding James by the shoulders at arms length, "But luckily, we won't have to worry about that. Because you got my back, and I got yours. Right?"

"Right." James gave a watery smile, and lightly punched Logan in the chest.

At that moment, the chief's door swung open, and Kendall and his mother were ushered out by Police Chief Roque. He motioned for them to sit down in a couple of chairs that were lined up against the wall, before he motioned to where the three detectives were sitting.

"Mitchell, Diamond. My office." His voice boomed over the business of the room.

"I'm going to take that as my cue to leave," Kelly said as she stood up, "I'll go check on Camille and see if she's had any luck."

Both men waved her off before standing up to make their way to Chief Roque's office. As the men entered the room, he motioned for them to close the door behind them before taking a seat at his desk. The older man ran a hand over his face before speaking.

"Okay, boys. According to Kelly's research, he's squeaky clean. Straight A's, hockey co-captain, and he volunteers at the animal shelter on the weekend. He can't come up with any names to who would want to hurt him or Dak. We have no leads."

"So, what are we going to do about it, boss?" Logan asked.

"He needs to be put under twenty-four-hour watch," both men nodded, "and I figured who better to do that than my two finest sniffer dogs."

"What?" James questioned, eyes bulging, "You expect us to sit in a car outside of his house, waiting for something to happen? That's a foot cop job!"

"James," Logan warned.

"Actually you won't be sitting outside of his house. He's going to move in with you."

Both men's jaws dropped. A kid who was being targeted by a deranged killer was being unceremoniously dropped into their hands. James had a fleeting thought that Roque had finally cracked after his thirty-five years of service.

"Sir, you can't be serious." Logan began, "How are we supposed to do our jobs of finding this guy, if we are too busy babysitting?"

"Well, Mitchell, for one thing, you are not babysitting. You are protecting a life. And secondly, since you and Diamond live together, it will be easy for you to work your schedules around watching him without having to uproot him every day. I still expect the two of you to do your best work and find this killer."

"I guess we don't have any say in this?" James muttered.

"No." Gustavo's answer was firm, and the two knew there was no way of changing his mind. "I've already discussed this with Kendall and his mother, and they both agree that it is the best option."

"But what about school?" Logan fumbled, flopping down into one of the chairs in front of him. "How are we supposed to protect him there?"

"Good question." Gustavo replied smoothly. "Kendall is a senior, and most of his classes are online due to the duel credit program from the local college. The only class that is face-to-face is his art class, which we should be able to work around. So, he will still be able to do his school work from your house."

"Okay, okay." Logan raised his hands in surrender and then craned his neck to look back up at James. "It looks like he's moving in with us."

James gave a curt nod, figuring that this is what had to be done to keep the kid safe. Gustavo lifted himself from his chair and headed toward the door. He opened it and motioned for Kendall and his mother to join them.

Kendall walked into the room first. His pale face blotchy and tear stained, his nose rubbed raw from crying. His hair hung in his eyes, and he brushed the blonde strands aside to look at the two men in front of him. His mother followed closely behind him. Her red hair tied into a bun on the top of her head and a map of tear tracks of her own.

James gave both of them a small smile and a nod of his head, as Logan got up and stood beside him. Gustavo closed the door behind the pair and moved to where he was standing so he could address all four of them.

"I have informed detectives Diamond and Mitchell of what we discussed, and they've agreed." Gustavo began. "I know it's not the ideal option for either party, but I do believe it is the best way to keep Kendall safe."

Kendall's mother nodded, moving to where she was standing a little further in front of the blonde. "I am trusting the two of you with my only child's life. M-my baby boy," she sniffled, glancing back at her son for a moment before addressing the two detectives again. "Can I trust you?"

"Of course you can, Ms. Knight." James answered quickly, "We won't let anything happen to Kendall as long as he is under our watch. We will not let anyone near him who has not been cleared."

Logan nodded beside him. Apparently it was a decent enough answer, and Ms. Knight nodded back before taking one of both of the men's hands.

"I am going to trust the two of you to keep him safe." She lightly squeezed their hands and let go of them before turning to wrap her son up in her arms.

James was almost a little baffled. Sure he and Logan were cops, and probably the most trustworthy people to watch Kendall, but here was this woman, blindly handing over the life of her only child to two complete strangers. She has no choice. She has to keep her child safe.

Looking down at Logan, James could almost feel the anxiety radiating off of him. This kid was about to be thrown into their constructed life like a wrench into a finely tuned machine. But, they have to do this. They have to protect this kid.

"Okay," Gustavo began, "I'm going to have an escort bring Kendall to James and Logan's house later this evening. We will have him switch cars in-between the drive in case he is being watched. So, Kendall, please be ready to leave your house at seven."

The blonde had detached from his mother and gave a small nod, understanding the directions clearly.

"And feel free to bring anything you need with you, we want you to be as comfortable as possible." Gustavo continued.

"Except for a cat," Logan piped up, "I'm allergic."

"You can bring a cat if you need to," James countered quickly, glaring down at Logan. "He's not that allergic, and he has medication for it."

"I don't have a cat." Kendall deadpanned.

"Oh, and I should probably mention that I have a dog." James continued. "He's a lab, and he's very calm and tame. I hope that's not a problem..."

"Nah."

"Okay, then. I guess we'll see you tonight." James gave a small smile of encouragement.

The blonde nodded and then grabbed his mother's hand as they exited the office. James quickly turned to Logan and hit him upside the head as they also exited the office.

"Ow! What was that for?" Logan asked, readjusting his glasses on his face.

"'I'm allergic to cats'? Logan, this kid is being uprooted from his life. If he wanted to bring a damn herd of cats, he could."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I just am scared of what is about to happen. Our lives are about to be turned upside down."

"Probably, but we are going to get through it to keep the kid safe. Because I got your back, and you got mine. Right?"

"I've got yours." Logan agreed, nodding his head, patting James on the shoulder. "You wanna go ahead and head out of here so we can get everything set up for tonight."

"Yeah, let's go do that."

"Okay, I'll go tell Kelly the plan, and you can go grab the car and bring it around front." Logan spoke as he put on his twill jacket and grabbed a couple of files off of his desk to throw them into his messenger bag before walking away.

James moved over to his desk and picked up a couple of files of his own, stuffing them into his backpack. He figured that both him and Logan would be doing a lot of work from home while they stayed with Kendall. Throwing on his leather jacket, James tossed his backpack on his shoulders, before grabbing his keys and heading out toward the parking garage. By the time he pulled up to the entrance of the precinct, Logan was already waiting for him.

The drive home was silent, but the moment they pulled into the garage, Logan turned to James, his eyes wide.

"Where is the kid going to sleep? He can't sleep on our couch, because the loose springs in that thing will probably poke his eye out."

"I've already thought about that..." James started hesitantly, "I figured he could crash in your room."

"My room! Where the hell am I going to sleep? James Diamond, I am not sleeping on the couch!" Logan yelled before getting out of the car and slamming his door shut, following James into the house.

Their house was nothing grand. A two bed, two bath with a large fenced in yard and a garage. It was all they needed, and to the two detectives, it was perfect. The moment they moved in it felt like home, and neither of them planned on moving out anytime in the near future.

"You're not going to be sleeping on the couch," James rolled his eyes as he hung his jacket and keys up, "I figured we'd just move your stuff into my room."

"Why can't he sleep in your room? Why do I have to give up mine?"

"Because you live the minimalist lifestyle, so you have less stuff to move." James shrugged, moving deeper into the house toward Logan's room as Logan followed. He stopped at the linen closet to grab new sheets.

"Why am I being punished for the fact that you're a fucking hoarder!"

"And I thought I was the dramatic one..." James mumbled as he entered Logan's room.

True to James' words, Logan's room was very minimalistic. Logan didn't believe in owning a lot of materialistic things, he would rather spend his money on something that could create a memory that he could keep always. So, Logan's room was bare, except for a couple of picture frames, his clothes, and some office supplies strewn across his desk. James moved to the bed and began to strip it of its sheets, and then wadded them up and threw them in the hamper. Then he began to make the bed as he continued to listen to Logan's whining.

"This is so unfair." Logan pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No," James stopped making the bed to turn his full attention to his best friend, "What's not fair is that this kid's lost his best friend, is being stalked by a killer, and now he is being forced to move in with two complete strangers. I know this is all a big change, but why are you acting like this? You're usually the sensible one."

Logan groaned as he tugged at his hair. "I don't know, James. I've been so swamped at work, and now we are having this kid dropped into our laps, and things are just going to get harder out from here, and I just c-" Logan was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Hey, Big Guy." James hushed as he moved over to Logan, placing his hands on the shorter man's shoulders. "Everything is going to be okay. I know things are rough, and they are going to get rougher the moment Kendall steps through that door, but we are going to be okay. We have each other and that's all we've ever needed to get through life to this point. Plus, it will be like we are having one big sleepover like we used to! We're going to be okay."

Melting underneath James' touch, Logan hung his head heaving out a sigh. "I'm trusting you on this, James. You better not make me regret this."

"When have I ever let you down?" James smirked, moving back to the bed to finish making it.

"Oh, I don't know... Maybe that one time when you convinced me to ask Steve Johnson out, and I ended up making a complete fool of myself. Or when you told me that I looked better without my glasses in the ninth grade, and I ended up walking into a wall and knocking myself out."

James chuckled as he finished making the bed. "Okay, first of all, your glasses were horrendous in nineth grade, and second of all, I didn't know that you would trip over your feet and face plant his dick."

"Most embarrassing moment of my life." Logan groaned as he moved to his closet and began to remove his clothes to move them into James' room.

James only laughed harder as he picked up the picture frames and an arm load of clothes. He followed Logan out of the room and across the hallway into his own. As he walked in, Sarge, his 9 year old blue labrador, started to move around in his kennel. Placing the clothes and picture frames on the bed, James let Sarge out and took him to the back door so he could let him out into the yard. When James returned to his room, he found Logan placing his clothes along side James' in the closet.

After about an hour they had all of Logan's belongings removed from his bedroom and neatly placed in James'. They had also reinforced the locks on all of the windows in the house, so there was no way of somebody getting in without them knowing. They then rewarded themselves with a beer and sitting down to watch the hockey game that was on. With Sarge curled up at his feet and Logan sitting by his side, James felt content. He wondered what it would be like to have another person moving about the house. It had only ever been him, Logan, and Sarge. Looking up at the clock, he figured he would be finding out in the next half hour.

As the game was about to go into overtime, the doorbell rang. It felt as though a heavy rock had taken up space in his chest as James and Logan moved to the door. Opening the door, they found Kendall and Officer Scott standing on their front porch. Kendall had changed from what he was wearing earlier in the day to sweat pants and a hoodie. His eyes still were puffy and red. He only held a duffle bag in his hand and had a backpack on his back.

"Hey guys, I'm here to leave Kendall in your custody." Officer Scott said as he tipped his hat in greeting.

"Thanks, Drew. We appreciate you getting him here safely." Logan spoke as he and James maneuvered out of the doorway, inviting Kendall in.

"No problem. See you guys around." Officer Scott spoke as he waved goodbye, and James shut the door behind the three of them.

Kendall stood in-between the two detectives, nervously biting on his lip ring. The hand curled around the straps of his duffle bag tightened and he shifted on his feet, looking like he was ready to bolt at a moments notice.

"Why don't we go put your bags in your room." James ventured as his chest continued to tighten.

Kendall nodded in agreement, and James led the way to their new guest's bedroom. Logan didn't follow the two, but instead went back into the living room. James figured that he was distancing himself so he didn't say anything rude to the new occupant of his room, and James was thankful. He didn't know if he could handle that right now.

As they walked through the house, James pointed out rooms so Kendall wouldn't be completely lost. Finally, they reached Logan-no-Kendall's room. James watched as Kendall quickly took in the room around him, before placing his bags on the bed. James didn't know what to do, so of course he begins to babble.

"This is your room. It use to be Logan's, but we're going to bunk together until we can get you back home safely."

Kendall eyes widened. "I-I don't want to be a burden. I'll just take the couch and Logan can have his room back."

"No, no!" James said, holding his hands out, "It's totally fine. We've already moved all of his stuff into my room. And plus, that couch out there is a death trap." James laughed, but Kendall didn't even bat an eye.

"O-okay." Kendall began to wring his hands, looking down at the floor.

"Logan and I are watching the hockey game, and Logan was talking about ordering pizza if you want to join." Kendall's body stiffened, and James face palmed himself.

"Oh my-Kendall, I'm sorry! We can turn off the game and still order pizza if-"

"It's.. it's okay." Kendall said shaking his head, "I'm not hungry anyways. I think I'll just turn in for the night."

"Okay." James nodded, angry at himself for upsetting the kid after not even five minutes of him being in his care. "If you need any more blankets, there are some in the top of the closet. And if you need anything during the night, my room is right across the hallway. Don't hesitate if you need us. And we're both light sleepers, so if anything happens, we'll be here."

"Thanks, Detective Diamond... thanks for everything." Kendall bit his lip ring, and James felt his chest constrict further. The kid looked so young and innocent, and yet here he was, living with two detectives because someone is out to get him.

"Don't mention it. And since we'll all three will be living together for the foreseeable future, just call us James and Logan. There is no need for formalities here."

Kendall nodded and James took that as his cue to leave. Taking once more glance at Kendall, he closed the door and headed back out into the living room.

"He settled in?" Logan asked from his seat on the couch.

"I guess." James said, running his hands though his hair and over his face. "I put my foot in my mouth, suggesting he watch the game with us, and he said he was going to bed early."

"Oh, smooth move, Diamond."

"I feel so bad about it." James flopped down on the couch, resting his head in Logan's lap, and the other man began to card through his hair.

"Don't beat yourself up too bad. There are going to be slip-ups and mistakes, and hell, the kid will probably end up leaving here worse for the wear when we finally find the killer, but that's just the way life is. We're just going to have to take it one day at a time."

James turned his face to where he was looking up at him and smiled. "Looks like somebody finally came to terms with him living with us."

"Well, I kind of had to when he stepped through the door." Logan chuckled as he lifted James' head off of his lap so he could stand. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm starved. You still want pizza?"

James nodded, and Logan made his way to the kitchen to place the order. Sarge nudged at James' hand that was dangling off the couch, seeking attention, which James gave him happily. The pizza arrived, and they turned on some random movie that was on, and burrowed into the couch to watch.

James hadn't realized he had fallen asleep until he woke up to a dark room and the sound of Sarge scratching at the back door. After waking Logan, and telling him to go to bed, James padded to the back door and let Sarge out. While he waited for the dog to do his business, James figured he could go check on Kendall and make sure he didn't need anything before he went to bed.

As he walked toward Kendall's door, James realized he didn't know what he should do. Should he knock? Should he call out and say it is him? Should he just barge in? The uncertanty of what to do had him standing out in the hallway, staring at Kendall's door. Finally, he decided he would knock lightly, in case Kendall had truly gone to bed like he said he would.

After knocking softly, and not hearing a peep from the other side of the door, James slowly pushed the door open. Kendall was curled up in the fetal position in the middle of the bed. The lights were still on, and James wondered how the kid fell asleep with them on. Kendall's body shivered, whether from being cold or having a bad dream, James didn't know. Either way, he wanted to help him sleep better, so he quietly made his way to the closet, got out a quilt from the top shelf, and carefully draped it over Kendall's sleeping form. Kendall didn't stir at all, but after a few moments his body relaxed somewhat. James smiled softly to hisself, and silently made his way back to the door. Throwing one more glance at Kendall over his shoulder, he tured out the light and closed the door to where it was cracked open.

After bringing Sarge back inside, turning off the kitchen light and the TV off in the living room, and locking all of the doors, James made his way to his and Logan's new shared bedroom. Logan was already underneath the covers, his breathing even, so James tip-toed around the room getting ready for bed. When he slid under the covers, Logan automatically rolled toward James and snuggled into his body.

"You're warm." Logan hummed.

"Thanks, I think?" James answered, wrapping an arm around his best friend.

"You check on the kid?"

"Yeah, he's asleep. Got him an extra blanket because he was shivering." James ended the sentence with a yawn as he burrowed deeper into his pillow.

"Hmmm," Logan hummed. "I'm sorry for being a dick today." He slurred out.

"Were you? I thought that was just your personality." James joked, to which Logan weakly thumped him on the chest, but he still had a smile on his face. "Night, Loges."

"Night, Jay."

Both men fell asleep quickly after that, peacefully, with guns hidden in the nightstand.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So, this has been sitting in my doc manager since October... I have no excuses.

* * *

A blood curdling scream pierced the air, waking both James and Logan out of their slumber. Sarge was barking manically from his kennel, trying to get out. Quickly grabbing their guns, the two raced out of bed and made their way into the hallway. The screaming continued, and all James wanted to do was retch the door open, but he had to be smart. This was not the time to let his poor impulse control to take over. Kendall's life is at risk.

Both men took the safety off their guns and faced the ajar bedroom door head-on. The crack between the door and the door jam was the same as when James left it, so he decided the intruder came through the window. Logan motioned to James that he would go low and for James to go high. The brunette silently nodded and placed his left hand on the door knob gently. Mouthing a countdown, the moment his lips formed the word three, James swung the door open and both he and Logan rushed into the room.

Their eyes quickly scanned the room, lit with only the moonlight, searching for an intruder. The only thing they found was Kendall wrapped up in his blankets, still asleep, screaming bloody murder.

James quickly pushed the safety on his gun, and moved to sit on the bed beside Kendall. He hesitantly placed his hands on the kid's shoulders and firmly shook him, trying to wake him up. Kendall's eye flew open, unfocused and dialated. He then started to fight against James, swinging his arms and legs, trying to make any contact with the dark figure looming above him. Logan went to the other side of the bed and tried to help James pin the flailing teen who was still enraptured in a nightmare.

"Kendall! You're okay! It's me, Ja-" Kendall's fist connected with James' mouth, cutting off his sentence. His lip busted and blood entered his mouth.

"Dammit," he hissed, swallowing down some of the blood. "_Kendall!_"

Kendall stilled in both of the mens' hold. His eye focused on the faces above him and he took in a shuddery breath, his eyes beginning to tear up.

"D-Dak?" the blonde asked, looking straight up at James, his features masked by the darkness of the room.

Logan left the bedside and moved to turn on the lights. The room was suddenly filled with light, and Kendall blinked harshly, trying to adjust to the brightness. When the teen could finally see, he realized that he mistook James for Dak, and his chest constricted so tightly, he began hyperventilating.

"Logan, he can't breath!" James exclaimed, internally and externally freaking out.

"Sit him up and try to get him to match his breathing to yours. I'm going to go grab something to help." And with that, Logan left James alone with a hyperventilating teen.

James quickly gathered Kendall by his arms and lifted him into a sitting position. Kendall's eyes were wide, and James could practically feel the fear radiating off of him.

"Come on, you heard Logan, try to get your breathing even with mine." James instructed, taking exaggerated breaths. After a few moments of this James began to feel lightheaded and realized this wasn't working.

Kendall's face was becoming red, and James could have swore that his lips were tinged blue. Thinking quickly, James gently placed a hand on the back of Kendall's head and slowly guided it toward his own chest, making sure that the kid was okay with it and wouldn't start throwing punches again. After Kendall willingly moved into his chest, James situated them to where Kendall was in his lap with his ear pressed tightly to James' chest. Taking deep breaths through his nose, James ran his hands up and down Kendall's back, trying to get his body to relax. Kendall had the older man's shirt gripped tightly in his fists as he listened to James' breathing and heartbeat. Logan retuned to the room, with Sarge in tow, to find that Kendall's breathing had significantly evened out. James noticed that Logan had a crease between his eyebrows, but as soon as he saw it, it was gone.

"Good job, Jay," Logan said, patting James on the shoulder before moving into Kendall's line of vision. "Are there any medications you're allergic to?"

Kendall's attention was on Sarge, who had taken it upon himself to jump up on the bed, and curl himself up at the edge of it near the two that were huddled together. Kendall finally shook his head 'no', burrowing himself further into James' chest. James' hands stilled on Kendall's back for a moment before wrapping the smaller boy in his arms. Now that he was calmer, exhaustion seemed to take over, and the blonde melted even further into James.

Logan popped open a prescription bottle and deposited a small, white pill into his palm. After putting the cap back on, he produced a water bottle from under his arm, and held both the pill and bottle out to Kendall. Kendall eyed him suspiciously.

"It's a Xanax. I take them when I have panic attacks. It's only point-two-five milligrams, so it won't knock you out. It'll just calm you and make you a little drowsy."

James released his hold on Kendall, and let him get out of his lap so he could sit up to take the pill. He chased it quickly with the water, and then handed it back to Logan with a small "thank you". James realized that his body felt colder without Kendall's curled around him, but quickly pushed that thought aside.

"No, problem. I'll talk to your mom and Camille tomorrow and see if there is someway we can get you a prescription of your own filled in case this happens again."

Kendall nodded and then looked up at James, his eyes widening, and the brunette worried that he was about to start hyperventilating again.

"Did I do that?" the blonde asked, pointing a shaky finger toward James' lip.

"Yeah," James chuckled, gently putting pressure on his lip with the pad of his pointer finger, "You've got quite a punch, even when you're half asleep."

"I am so s-sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, it's okay." James said, placing his hands on Kendall's tensed shoulders. "It's just a busted lip. I've had way worse! It'll heal in a couple of days, and then it will be like it never happened."

Kendall's shoulders relaxed under James' hands, and he tilted his head downward. James gave his shoulders a small squeeze before letting go and looking up at Logan.

"Let's all try to go back to bed. That medicine should kick in soon and help you fall asleep." Logan said, yawning at the end.

"O-okay." Kendall said, nodding.

"Come on, Jay." Logan said, turning toward the door to leave.

As James started to stand to follow Logan, Kendall shouted, "Wait!" and grasped James' bicep tightly.

Both James and Logan looked at him quizzically.

"I-I mean, w-would you mind staying until I fall back asleep?" Kendall asked, looking solely at James.

Logan rolled his eyes, unbeknownst by the other two, and mumbled something about going back to bed as he picked up both his and James' guns before leaving the room. James gave Kendall a small smile, and nodded his head.

"Yeah, I can stay."

James stood up and grabbed the desk chair to pull it to the bedside. He then turned on the lamp beside the bed and went to flip the lights off. By the time he sat down in the chair, Kendall had laid down and gotten back under the covers, with Sarge cuddled up against his legs. They sat there in silence for a few moments, just staring at each other, before Kendall spoke.

"I was dreaming about him." Kendall whispered. James didn't know what to say, so the blonde saw it as a sign to keep talking. "He was laughing and smiling a-and he was still alive. B-but then there was so m-much blood and-" He was teetering on the verge of hyperventilating again.

"Hey, hey." James leaned forward in the chair and grabbed Kendall's hand that was near the edge of the bed. "It was a nightmare. And you're probably going to have a lot of those. And I know there is nothing I can do to make this any better, but Logan and I are going to make sure that you are safe and that what happened to Dak doesn't happen to you. I promise."

"I really appreciate you guys letting me stay with you." Kendall said, keeping his misty eyes trained on James.

"Don't mention it. Now go to sleep and get some rest."

As if on cue, Kendall yawned. Giving him a soft smile, James squeeze Kendall's hand one last time before reclining back in the chair.

"Goodnight, Kendall."

"Night, Detective... James." Kendall slurred, snuggling into his pillow.

James stayed until the kid's breathing evened out and light snores escaped him. After he was sure that Kendall was completely asleep, he tried to get Sarge off the bed to follow him, but the dog just laid his head on Kendall's legs, looking up at his owner. James rubbed the lab's head, knowing that he wanted to stay to keep Kendall safe.

"Night, boy." he whispered, as he moved to turn off the lamp.

After leaving the door cracked like he did before, James made his way back to his own bed. Logan was already back asleep, so James moved as silently as he could and climbed under the covers beside him. Logan immediately curled into James, pressing his nose into the other's neck, sighing before falling still again. James wrapped his arms around Logan, but didn't fall asleep. He stayed awake, looking up at the ceiling, trying to figure out why he felt the need to go back to Kendall's room.

It didn't make any sense. He knew that Kendall was safe, and yet, he mentally had to force himself to stay in his own bed. James chalked it up to his adrenalin still running high, but as he finally started to drift off to sleep, he imagined that it was Kendall curled up around his side instead of Logan.


End file.
